John Carter 2012

It is rare that I go see a movie in the theater and dislike it so much I want to leave. John Carter is the only movie in my life I have ever seriously considered walking out on. So many things about the story and characters drove me to anger. This was a movie created by a filmmaker I admire who I looked forward to using his powers to make a sci-fi epic. What was created was a mess. The main character was not likable. The romantic interest (a scientist princess warrior) was so selfish that when faced with the situation of entering a hollow marriage for the sake of saving thousands of people's lives from a bloody war, she chose to be single. Thats it. Be single. The villains were shape shifting eternal beings who could be killed with a bullet. You did not read that sentence wrong. As a viewer I was lost. Motivations for characters were blurry and/or force fed.

It's too easy to blame audiences for not embracing the sci fi genre as one of the writers Michael chabon did unwired magazine. The top grossing movie of all time, avatar, featured blue alien characters. It managed to hook a broad audience and take them on a simple story. An adventure. Audiences today are more receptive to the sci fi genre than ever before. This is a generation that has embraced star wars and star trek. The characters in those works, including avatar, were more real than any character in John Carter. There were no character arcs. No lessons learned. Justice not being served. Underdogs not rising to an impossible challenge. The movie just had stuff happening to people that at times I was supposed to care about and times when I was not supposed to care about them.

Piña 3-D (2011)

Saw an interesting movie tonight. Part documentary and part dance performance. Directed by Wim Wenders. I'm not a big fan of his work, but this was impressive. Specifically the use of 3-D and shot composition. The movie examines the impact of a choreographer in Germany to her dancers and the pieces she made. It's high art, intense, and funny. The dream-like moments reminded me of another movie, The Red Shoes.

Movie: HAXAN: WITCHCRAFT THROUGH THE AGES (1922)

This was recommended to me by a friend JT Petty. I've heard about the movie back when The Blair Witch Project was released. So, I picked it up from the library this past week...

A silent film that is part educational film and part horror movie. It's an engaging overview of how and why the myth of witches came to be and an expose on the hysteria of witch hunts.

It's a fascinating film and I recommend it to anyone interested in great silent films. Some of the images are scary, funny, and realistic. You get sucked in by the images you think you're looking into a portal to the middle ages when it's really just some Swedish actors in the 1920s.

What was really neat was all the creepy make-up/ monsters that just happen. Some great trick photography & special fx. The devil in this movie is creepy.

I don't remember my dreams and RARELY have nightmares. After watching Haxan, I went right to sleep and had horrible dreams. Mostly about people doing bad/ gross stuff to other people. I'd prefer to not remember my dreams. Life's too short to spend time trying to analyze them.

STARS: 9 out of 10

QUOTE FROM ERIK: "Want to see one of the creepiest devils in cinematic history? Watch Haxan."

Urban Dictionary Challenge: "4-D"

One of my new year's resolutions is to be a little more creative. I gave myself the goal of getting some of the slang terms I use published by Urban Dictionary. The site is one of my favorites.

The first term I submitted in 2012 was approved recently.

4-D

Watching a 3-D movie while drinking alcohol or being drunk. Usually done for a poorly rated big budget 3-D Hollywood movie.

Example:

"The Green Lantern is gonna suck, but at least we're seeing it 4-D."

Book: THE BLACK BANNERS by Ali H. Soufan

This is an important book in the history of America. It's by Ali Soufan, a brilliant FBI agent who became an expert on Al Qaeda. The shared research in this book is fascinating. It really shows how office politics & egos (CIA) can get in the way no matter what the goal is. Told from his perspective it's a book where you feel the frustrations he went through during his career. It's amazing to see that even in the intelligence fields people will make claims without being backed by facts & research.

The book itself feels like the clearest & most concise report on Al Qaeda and the events that led up to and after 9/11. You really understand why Mr. Soufan rose through the ranks quickly. He's able to simplify a lot of material like a master. You also get a real insight into countries you will probably never step foot in (Yemen). Sections of the book are blacked out. Some you can figure out. Some you really can't.

His insights on interrogation go against everything that Hollywood would have you believe. You just need to be smarter, do the research, do some acting, and have a little luck. "Enhanced interrogation techniques" don't work as well as just having a conversation with respect. Soufan was able to get information out of suspects & informants by knowing who they were, where they came from, what they believed in, and more. I'm happy I live in a world with real heroes like Mr. Soufan.

[*I'll probably add more to this since i read it in Nov of 2011.]

STARS: 10 out of 10

QUOTE FROM ERIK: "It's one of my favorite nonfiction books of all time."

BUY IT HERE: http://www.amazon.com/Black-Banners-Inside-Against-al-Qaeda/dp/0393079422

NEW BLOG FORMAT: Media Journal/ Notes

I'm not really a blogger and haven't figured out how to best use this thing. So, I'm going to use it as a record of movies, games, and books I've consumed. My takes & descriptions will be brief. Trying to pull out what I liked, found insightful, interesting, didn't like, etc. I consume a lot of this stuff and should probably keep my notes somewhere.

I really hope I keep this up.